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iPod Dissection and Review
Mister Man writes "I saw over at AnandTech that there is finally
a decent iPod review out there. Not only does the review include screen shots
galore, they also have some pretty cool pictures of what is inside that pretty
little box. Also discussed is information on how to connect an iPod to a Windows
based PC. Check out the
article for the real deal. Sadly, it doesn't seem like there is Linux based
software yet."
If I understand it correctly, what is holding iPod on Linux back is the lack of HFS+ support.
While HFS+ read support seems to be up and working (more or less), HFS+ write support is just not there. It's been on wishlists for years, but so far no luck.
Can anyone say what the stumbling block is? Is it lack of or misleading documentation? Is it a patent issue?
Is there code in Darwin that could be legally borrowed and turned into an HFS+ module?
However, this is an audio device. Why so few reviews discussing its audio quality? How does it stack up to, say, a decent quality mini-disc player? Not in terms of tech features, but just quality of sound?
My own opinion? I love the look of it, and most particularly the size of it. I'm one of those who will need to wait for XPlay, but that looks to be coming along nicely. My only quibble is that I'll still need to get an FM radio - it would have been great had an FM radio been included. People still need to find out about new or different music as well as listen purely to their own collection.
However, once XPlay is publicly working with playlists and deletes, an iPod is likely to be in my pocket before the week is out...
Cheers,
Ian
A couple of reasons...
-Apple's marketing strategy revolves around the idea of the "digital hub." The iPod (and iTunes) are a major component of this strategy. Note that these commodities are exclusive to Apple. By producing a Windows version of the iPod, both Apple and Windows users would be able to experience the same great music experience. Apple wants to distinguish itself from the rest of the PC market, not cater to it. Making the iPod Mac-exclusive serves as an incentive for users to go Mac.
-Practically speaking, in terms of both production and support, Apple would be inviting trouble on itself by producing a PC version. Though Apple has tinkered with PC products before, everyone would agree it is not their forte.
-Why produce an entirely new version of the iPod when Windows users, granted with an extra cash outlay, already will be able to use the original? Simply because Firewire isn't standard on PCs yet? Please.
My current favorite is ID3-TagIT. It lets you go back and forth from filenames to tags in both directions, supports batch tagging and batch renaming, upper/lower case correction, id3v1<->id3v2, automatic sorting into folders, etc. It's very comprehensive and easy to use.
http://giantlaser.com/~jason/ipod.html
...
interesting link
The real reason we all want an iPod is that we want to be able to dance like this dude!
He must be beating the chicks off with a stick!
I'm a little fascinated by Slashdot's ongoing fixation on this device. [...] My only theory as to why is because it may not be Linux-y, but it's still a fascinating device.
Err... I think that pretty much covers it.
Since when did Slashdot become "News for Linux Weenies"? I thought this was a tech-head site. The iPod is most definitely a very cool toy from a techy perspective, which means it falls within the remit of this site.
In general you may have noticed that Apple are appearing increasingly frequently on Slashdot, which I guess means that they are doing things that are increasingly interesting to tech-heads, which I think is a good thing for Apple.
There were the same people harping on about the new iMac posting, saying what does it have to do with Slashdot. But any story that can generate a 1000 comments is clearly of interest to Slashdotters.
I use Linux too, but hey, take off the blinkers.
This review is nice and informative, but I can't help but scoff at the sentence (on the first page) pointing out the "fatal flaw in the iPod design": It only works for MacOS.
"Fatal flaw in the iPod design"? Give me a fucking break. "Pain in the ass for Linux and Windows users", sure. But to imply that it's a design flaw would be to say that somehow Mac exclusivity was not in the designer's plans. I think it's fairly bloody obvious why Apple would design a cool peripheral that could only be used with its own OS. It's not by accident, or by poor design. It's 100% intentional.
That's like saying "Puccini's Turandot is a great opera; its fatal flaw is that it's not in English".
Do domain names matter?
I've had my iPod since late October and I love it. It has worked flawlessly and live up to all of my expectations. I was afraid of how sturdy it would turn out to be, but I've managed to drop it a few times (once from about chest height) with no ill effects. My Rio 600 was totally destroyed after being dropped from the same height. I only have 2 complaints:
...
1. The stainless steel back does scratch easily... mine was scratched after just a couple of days of carrying it in the pockets of my coats and jeans. Still, though, peple see it and say "hey, is that one of those Apple MP3 things?"
and
2. I don't really like the earbuds. I can't wear them for more than a few minutes without getting sore ears. No big deal, though, I just got some head phones. I've never found any earbuds that I like, however, so I was not expecting to be happy with the ones that come with the iPod.
It works great in FireWire disk mode as a quick backup disk or as a quick way to transfer large files from one Mac to another. I've read about people who have booted their Macs from an iPod, but Apple does not recommend doing that. I believe that it's because the internal disk was not designed to spin for long peroids of time or to hold up to frequent reading and writing. I don't know for sure, but that's what I am guessing.
The battery life is stupendous and actually exceeds the 10 hours that Apple lists in the specs. I listen to mine at work all the time and it never drops below about 50% or so.
Some people have complained about the lack of an on-board equalizer, but you can do that in iTunes and the settings are applied to the MP3 file & the iPod recognizes them when the file is transferred so that's not really a big deal.
It does get a little warm... when it's been playing for a long period of time. Nothing like the G3/G4 PowerBooks though.
All in all, it's the best MP3 player I've seen. Sure, it's only a 5 gig hard drive, but the ease of use more than makes up for that minor shortcoming.
That font is actually an old typeface called Chicago, and looks nothing like Apple Garamond. It does make the iPod look more Mac-like, though in a retro sort of way (Apple hasn't used that font in years). I imagine the reason it was selected for the iPod is the same reason the old Mac OSs used it. Their UI research determined that Chicago was superior as a screen font in terms of readability and the thicker appearance also made it easier on the eyes; remember this is long before GUI-level antialiasing was available.
"Leave the strategizing to those of us with planet-sized brains." -Tycho
I've wanted an iPod since they came out. They are small, work extremely well, and produce good sound. Even with the high price, they are worth while. Of course, the problem is you really need a Mac to make all the bells and whistles work. This isn't a problem for apple though.
Between the iPod, the ease of creating a home DVD (iMovie, iDVD, + third party high end stuff, if you need it), manipulating pictures (iPhoto) and organizing your music (iTunes) Apple has got it right. I used to be a Mac lover, and now I'm ready to become one all over again. After seeing the new iMac in the store (which will fit on the kitchen desk, something my PC never has done) I'm going in whole hog.
What does that mean for apple? Well, they will get me for an iMac plus an iPod. Additionally someone (cannon, likely) will get a MinDV and a new still digial camera out of it. The digital hub is here, and is only going to get better.
The hold up for the Mac has always been other software. For my needs that's all there as well now. There are good ssh clients and terminal emulators. Office works, better than windows in fact. IE is available (yes, for web work you have to have it). Heck, there are even respectable games these days.
I think Apple is on the comeback, and I think their digital hub is a smash hit idea, both for the home user who "just wants it to work", as well as for the geek who "just wants the mundane to work" so he can get on with the cool stuff.